X-Men, Marvel, DC, Original Super Hero RP

[Digital Muse]

This interest check is a little backwards. I'm not offering to run an RP, I am begging someone to put one together (I'll help best I can).

I have been jonesing to do a super hero RP for months now and have found absolutely nothing of the calibre of writing that I have become accustomed to here. So this is my shout out for other like-minded RP-ers.

Anyone interested?

[Syrena]

Oh my god! X-Men!

<3

I'm interested. Very, very interested. I'm such a sucker for superhero things. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure if I'm the right person to put something together...

[Digital Muse]

I have ideas, but absolutely fail at GM-ing. I need someone to stitch stuff together and then run the thing.

[Syrena]

I can stitch things together.

And I have a little bit of GM experience. Not much. Kind of the little kid pushing random buttons experience. I think everything went well despite my inexperience, but the role play never finished.

[Digital Muse]

Finished roleplays is a rare animal indeed.

[Syrena]

They definitely are! It is such a shame too.

[Kathryn Lacey]

So... I'm good at keeping RP's organized, but I suck at pushing the plot... Ugh... Anyway, this isn't an official "I'm in" anyway. I'm just curious about some things...

You said you have ideas. I like the idea of super heroes, and while I love X-Men, my knowledge is limited to the movies, what I remember about the 90's cartoon, and whatever my love has told me about the events in the comics. If it's X-Men-y would it be canon characters or OC's in that sort of universe?

If it's just a standard OC super hero sort of thing, do you have any kind of plot?

[Digital Muse]

Since I personally despise ridiculously over-powered characters, I thought it could be in the X-men world, but we wouldn't play canon characters. I see no reason to play characters that aren't at some kind of risk.

I prefer that everyone make their own Mutant/Meta/powered being with their own twist on things. Heck, players could even be just plain Human.

A game I ran (very briefly) was set in the Marvel Universe, any city would do, but the hot shots (the Avengers, the X-men, etc) were all busy taking care of the 'world threats', but there had to be a government-affiliated squad (local Police or FBI or what have you) to handle local crimes by supers.

I had a hard-nose Captain (powers unknown to the players), his Lieutenant and a few squad members set up while the players filled out the squad with new recruits and had to go through being recruited and trained. Then a few cases could be tossed in to the RP.

That could be incorporated here.

[Kathryn Lacey]

So the squad that takes care of super-related crimes would be made up of supers?

[Digital Muse]

Some supers, some humans. All would be welcomed as players.

[Guest]

Sounds interesting. I like that these characters would be taking care of the super scum and villains that are not really all that... big. No doubt there are a lot of them out there, but they don't get any light next to the mad scientists that always want to drop entire cities rather than make away with a few purses.

So... I'm willing to run this. I'm on medical leave (in a way) until December 5th at least, so that gives me time to really get this started. I know I don't have the best track record for going steady... but everything else I was in has died, unfortunately.

What say you?

[Kathryn Lacey]

I like the idea of this, too, and would this specialized police force also be protecting mutants against attacks as well? Like... they both protect mutants from hate-crimes and they take down the bad mutants?

Furthermore... you also said that over-powered-ness is a major turn-off which is totally something I agree with. However... pretty much any conceivable power that isn't lame has been taken by one X-Man character or another, overpowered, underpowered, and balanced... so... How would it be suggested players would decide what sort of powers to give their characters (provided their characters are mutants in the first place)?

[Digital Muse]

Yay! Go for it, Kathryn!

@Gad - yes, the 'Meta Police' or whatever we end up calling them, protect both humans and supers. As for powers, there is no 'original' idea anymore, it's true. People would just need to decide that whatever power they go with is used in a unique way or not be world-ending.

[Syrena]

Just a thought--not all the super powers need to be fully developed right away. Turning into a Jean Grey over night would be kind of insane... (Or maybe not. Who knows.)

[Kathryn Lacey]

So... basically... I think time travels shouldn't be permitted because that ruins everything and/or creates plot holes. Just look at Heroes and past issues of X-Men (Age of Apocalypse, anyone?)...

Furthermore, yes. No Jean Grey's, Phoenixes, or Professor X-esque mental capabilities because that's super overpowered. Honestly, if someone does have telepathic or telekentic abilities, I think that they should either start small with it as Syrena suggested and/or never really reach the potential to become incredibly overpowered. There's a difference between being good at something and like... having the ability to remove another person's free will and/or ability to fight back.

Finally, we have a premise, but any suggestions on a running plot to keep interest?

[Digital Muse]

Well, the continual recruitment and training of new squad members are always an easy one. Obvious tension between humans and supers. Even between supers who think there is prejudice and the super police are protecting humans more.

A series of small 'cases' to investigate can be a running theme too

[Syrena]

Perhaps we can have a reoccurring villain in some of the cases, too. A reoccurring villain is a bit lame, I know, but I also think it has the potential to be fun. And provide someone to rally against.

[Kathryn Lacey]

So... This will be like an episodic rp rather than a serial one? With the focus more on character development and the premise than an actual plot?

[Digital Muse]

A classic rabid racist or someone looking to privatize security/armies with supers so he can 'take over the world?

[Squall Reyes]

Been a while since I've been around but this has got my interest.

[Syrena]

A classic rabid racist or someone looking to privatize security/armies with supers so he can 'take over the world?

A classic rabid racist. That's my vote!

Someone aiming to take over the world sounds like something the X-Men or the Avengers or another group of big shots would handle. A classic racist has the potential for a lot of things, but probably isn't going to take over the world and would fit in better with a special task force.

Just my thoughts, though.

[Lara]

I...might regret this when my work load speeds back up, but I'm...very interested in this. I have a character that I'd love to use, and if it really is like what Kathryn said, with more focus on character development than plot, it seems like it could be a come-and-go sort of thing if that's what it came down to.

[Kathryn Lacey]

OMG! Squall! It's been so long! <3

Also, I like the idea of a classic racist, too, for the reasons expressed by Syrena. It's a smaller scale kind of a thing. Would it be the Friends of Humanity, Humanity's Last Stand, the Church of Humanity, Stryker's Purifiers, or an original anti-mutant hate group?

[Digital Muse]

I'd like to keep this home-grown personally. And remember, it could be a super that's the racist against humans too.

[Syrena]

I'm partial to the human that's racist against the supers for some reason... Regardless, I am definitely with you in keeping more towards the home-grown side of things (with links to Marvel things, too, of course).

[quakernuts]

Hey Guys, Quaker here! How's everyone doin'?

So, like Muse, I've been wanting to get into a super power/human/awesome fantastic dude-esque roleplay for a bit now. So I would like to officially throw my hat into this as well. (Considering I'm down to, really, two RP's.)

I have very minimal GM experience, but would be willing to help set up CS's, power limitations/requirements, area, important individuals and gangs, etc. I only have one question.

Would any of you be opposed to me running as a villain in this RP? I know there is talk of a recurring bad dude in here, and I was hoping to use a character from another RP that would fit perfectly into this RP. (I know, hearing the term 'character from another RP' throws up warning flags, but seriously, only got about two posts in with him before it died.)

So, what are your thoughts? Worries? Concerns? Death threats? Let me try to answer some of the ones that come to my mind.

---

1) Being a villain, doesn't that mean that you somehow have to know ahead of time what is going to happen/manipulate the RP to fit your plan?

A) Yes, but only to a certain degree. I'm very picky when it comes to details, and I tend to over-think things to a stupid degree when I'm motivated to do so. Hopefully, I should be able to put together some creative scenarios for you guys to respond to. I would ask that there be 1, maximum 2 people who would sit down with me when I think of an idea to see just how well it would work, who it would effect, and possible future ramifications.

2) Does this mean that your character is going to be a super over-powered jackass?

A) Not necessarily. Let's look at the Joker for example. He had no super powers, unless you count absolutely bonkers as an ability, yet he gave Batman a huge run for his money. He sent the city into chaos, and was only barely stopped. The character I plan on using is somewhat of a situational character when it comes to his power. Get him in the right spot without his power's basic needs, and he may as well be harmless to a regular super.

3) Well if you're a villain, why don't we have a RP with two sides facing off against each other?

A) This one is purely my opinion and experience, but an RP with two sides rarely ever works. There's so much red tape when it comes to fighting, to making plans, to having sudden changes, it just makes everything incredibly slow and eventually kills it faster than your standard RP. Having one person sort of overseeing the 'bad side' as I see it is a good way to keep things refreshing and give an actual face and name to the person you're fighting.

So those were the three main questions that popped to mind. Let me know what you guys think!

QUAKER OUT!

[Kathryn Lacey]

So... We have two people who are up for GMing this: Ysopet and quaker. Maybe you two could work in tandem to make this role-play flow well?

I do agree that having two sides to a role-play makes it really slow and difficult to keep going. I've tried this several times in the past, and it just... never worked... I think two people on the evil side at most would be best since we'll mostly be focused on the good side. I just worry that the villain will mostly be writing up monologues rather than having any solid interaction with the rest of the group.

However, I think if we all work together to make this work, it can.

Quaker, I think it will be important to see your character before a real decision is made, though. Just because you think it'll work, it doesn't mean everyone else will, and this should definitely be a game where everyone's characters fit into the general idea for it. We don't want any evil masterminds destroying the world or even whole cities like Batman villains tend to try, you know?

[Syrena]

I like the idea of having someone play the main villain! There is a strong appeal to having a bad guy to interact with that isn’t controlled by the group or the GM(s).

It adds spice to the game.

Although, like Kathryn, I think seeing the villain character first before making a decision is best. I’m also worried about potential monologue. I’ve played the main villain in role plays before, and it often became tedious work because I was on my own.

No friends, no reliable minions… There was a lot of monologue on my part, and everything eventually came to a halt in the role play. I would hate to see something like that happen to this role play.

[quakernuts]

I see the problem with monologues, and I also know that people tend to skip them if the post has nothing to do with anyone else. In which case, I could also have a small role within this 'police force' that we're creating, if you guys go that route.

As for seeing the character, I will post him up once we have a more solidified idea as to the city, the setting, powers, etc. But let me get the basics out of the way, his power and his motivation.

Power: Basically put, he can manipulate inorganic material on a molecular level, allowing simple household items to become weapons. However, he can not do this on a massive scale. He can't morph a house into a giant robot killing machine, for example. The biggest thing he could change at once, would be something the size of a motorcycle.

Motive: He's not motivated by a need for world domination, racism, or even revenge. Purely put, he's motivated by money and his desire to have his name feared. In a global sense, he's small time. In a local sense, he's a power to be reckoned with.

Other notes: My character would also have a gang that would do his bidding, minions if you will. Most of these guys would not be supers, your standard minion affair. I would would make up a few 'head' minions who would happen to be supers later on so that you guys fight people of your calibre.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I'm not really sure I understand the power your character would have... Would this be like some sort of Maximum Overdriver-esque thing where he can make machines come alive and try to kill people?

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